Throughout the journey, apart from stopping to drink water and rest, Huang Xiao spurred his horse west toward Qinling Taibai Mountain. Although he was injured, he could actually go a day or two without resting, but the horse could not possibly keep running like this.
Qinling Taibai Mountain lay at the westernmost edge of the territory. Farther west lay the Xia, Yin, Sui, You, and Jing Five Prefectures. Li Jiqian had expressed his willingness to submit to Liao Shengzong and secured Liao support. Hexi had long been an important Northern Song territory. To weaken Northern Song control over Hexi, Liao Shengzong appointed Li Jiqian Military Governor of Dingnan Army, Surveillance Commissioner of the Xia, Yin, Sui, You, and Jing Five Prefectures, Specially Advanced Grand Preceptor, and Commander of All Military Affairs in Xiazhou. Thus, Li Jiqian repeatedly attacked the Northwestern Song Border.
Still, Qinling Taibai Mountain itself had some historical significance. It was said that Sun Simiao, the Medicine King, had once lived in seclusion on this mountain, devoting himself to studying all manner of medical prescriptions. The two great sects, Poison God Valley and Medicine God Valley, were both situated on this mountain, and both claimed to have inherited the teachings of Sun Simiao. Among those in Jianghu, some believed this, while others did not.
Those who believed naturally thought that Medicine God Valley's extraordinary healing methods and Poison God Valley's poison arts, which made people turn pale at their very mention, must have come from the Medicine King. How else could such medical and poison arts be explained?
Those who did not believe had their own reasoning. In their eyes, these two great sects had merely learned from historical records that the Medicine King had once lived here in seclusion, then traced their origins back to him. It